Category: Water
When the revolution in Rojava began, the groundwater level was very low due mainly to industrial monoculture agriculture organised by the Syrian regime over the last four decades, as well as a decline in rainfall as a result of the global climate crisis.
In 2015, Turkey started to use water as a weapon against Rojava by holding back the water on the rivers which flow from Turkey to Syria through the dams it has been building over the last twenty years.
Then, in October 2019, Turkish state forces invaded some areas of North-East Syria, including the region of Serekaniye, which supplies water to almost half a million people in the region around Hasakah. The Alouk water station in Serekaniye was targeted on the first day of the invasion. Since then it has been fixed and then put out of service again repeatedly.
Since the start of the invasion of Serekaniye, Turkish military forces and their allies have continued to attack water infrastructure, burned newly planted orchards and dammed the rivers providing most of the fresh water and electricity to Syria. Hundreds of thousands of people are currently without safe reliable drinking water, a situation only exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the articles below, you can find more information about issues surrounding water and the struggles for water autonomy in North and East Syria. There are also articles here with information on issues around water in southeastern Turkey, such as Turkish megaproject the Ilisu Dam, whose waters have now submerged the ancient city of Hasankeyf, drowning thousands of years of largely unexcavated human history and displacing an estimated 100,000 people, while giving Turkey unprecedented control over waters of the wider region.

Jinwar Women’s village newsletter February 2023
But also during the intensified war and the earthquake disaster, the daily life continues and the preparation for planting new vegetables and crops have been completed. Besides other things, beans, wheat and barley have already been planted and the women continue to bake their own delicious bread.
The defense of the revolution leads through ecological justice
The Rojava Revolution is based on the theory of Democratic Confederalism according to Abdullah Öcalan. Democratic Confederalism, in turn, is an ecological paradigm by its very nature. What does this mean concretely in Rojava?
Tişrîn Dam back in operation
Tişrîn Dam started to work again on Wednesday after being stopped for a week. According to the new work program, there will be a reduction in the hours of electricity supplied to the region.
18 villages west of Kobanê face thirst as earthquake damaged water treatment plant
18 villages to the west of Kobanê faced thirst because their groundwater became unusable after the severe earthquake in North Kurdistan.
Tishrin dam halted service due to hitting dead level – Administrator
An administrator at the Tishrin Dam, on the Euphrates River in northern Syria, said on Wednesday that the dam was put out of commission after its reservoir hit dead level, which is caused by severe shortage of water flow from Turkey.
More farmers in Rojava switch to solar energy as an alternative to diesel generators
Despite war and constant attacks, the ecological development of Rojava continues to make progress. More and more agricultural workers are converting their irrigation systems from diesel to solar energy.
Earthquake in Turkey: the state versus the people
The HDP’s strength lies in its ability to mobilise and organise its large network of supporters and sympathisers and like-minded community organisations. As soon as they heard about the earthquake, the party dropped all other plans, set up a central coordination centre, and dispatched leading members to the affected area. Local election centres were transformed into coordination centres, while the youth organisation concentrated on rescue work. They put out calls for solidarity and for people with shelter and food to share with those without, and they helped create a framework to allow people’s natural solidarity to find direction.
Statement by ecology movements in Turkey- demands for immediate action
Immediately after the February 6 earthquake, one of the biggest in the history of Turkey, a broad meeting of Ecology Organizations in Turkey published this statement.
Syria’s AANES to build new water pipeline to Hasakah
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) plans to build a new pipeline to deliver drinking water to the city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria.
Day Laborers In Syria’s Kobani Not Safe From Turkish Attacks
On Dec. 22, three civilians, who work for the Water Directorate in Kobani were injured in a Turkish shelling while doing maintenance work in the village of Shyoukh, west of the city.
Farmers In Syria’s Hasakah Rejoice At Rainfall, Fear Turkish Shelling
Farmers in the countryside of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, were delighted by recent rainfall after two years of drought that had affected the region.